Utilizing the Post Safety - A lesson from the Arizona Wildcats ('23)
Utilizing the Post Safety - A lesson from the Arizona Wildcats ('23)
Johnny Nansen's defense in Tucson confused opposing QBs by utilizing the Post Safety in various ways while still running mainly MOFC coverages.
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“You never know what we’re going to do… I enjoy it, having all of these different opportunities. Everyone gets a chance to… showcase different skills.”
— Safety Dalton Johnson, via Tucson.com
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The Arizona Wildcats’ 2023 defense is a scheme nerd’s dream. Each week, the system was given a new wrinkle, even though the coverage structures were heavily based on Cover 3. Defensive Coordinator Johnny Nansen, now with Texas (co-DC/ILBs), created new defensive formations each week to match his opponent. The development of the Wildcats’ defense even earned him a nomination for the Broyles Award given to the top FBS assistant.
Nansen has coached on both sides of the ball, which he feels gives him a unique outlook on defense. He understands what the other side is trying to do. Former Arizona Head Coach Jedd Fisch (now at Washington) hired Nansen because of his duality.
Fisch is a former staff member of Bill Belichick, who advised the coach to hire someone who has worked on both sides of the ball. In Nansen’s initial press conference, he explained why he chose to move to the other side of the ball in the middle of his career:
“…I understand how offensive coaches are thinking, I understand how they prepare. That, to me, was something I really wanted to study. And it made me a better coach once I moved (back) over to defense.
The Wildcats’ base defense stems from a 4-3 Cover 3 system (~10% of this year’s snaps). With most colleges utilizing spread offenses, even if in 12 personnel, Nansen employed his Nickel package (five DBs) ~70% of the time. Within that structure, Arizona lined up in basic Ni 4-2-5 (~53%), Flex 3-3-5 (~14%), and even Penny 5-1 (~3%). The multiplicity up front kept teams off-balanced. The Wildcats used Dime (six DBs) and a Dollar (seven DB) packages against USC and Washinton’s vaunted passing attacks (PFF).
» Packages:
Base (4-3)
Nickel (4-2-5)
Tite (Ni 3-4)
Flex (3-Safety)
Joker (Penny 5-1)
Dollar (3-1-8)
Nansen replaced Don Brown, the current head coach of UMass, who was known for his aggressive nature. Brown’s defenses are aggressive and based around man coverage; he is famous for saying, ‘Solve your problems with aggression.’ The 4-3 base, multiple packages, and attack style defense were all parts of the system Nansen wanted to keep when tabbed the next DC in Tuson, as he eluded to in his introductory presser:
“Very similar to what Don (Brown) was doing… I like to pressure a little bit more. And just make sure our guys play hard.”
In reality, the Wildcats are more aggressive in coverage than in blitz design. Last year, the Wildcats came in at 54th in Blitz Rate (27.5%) and 62nd in Pass Blitz Rate (26.1%). Those rankings were down drastically from ‘22, when Arizona finished the year 23rd in BR and 27th in PBR (PFF). Instead of blitzing, Arizona used its Safeties to counter how offenses attacked it.
Arizona’s coverage chart is meme-like, with ~87% of its coverages run from a closed-post structure. In 2023, no other team ran Cover 3 more than the Wildcats. Nansen didn’t try to disguise it either, with a MOF Disguise rate of 7.7%, the lowest in the Power 5. Arizona paired their ‘static’ coverages with multiple fronts. In the back end, Nansen used Safety rotations depending on the opponent to alleviate issues in the backend and developed cut-off valves against offenses trying to exploit their closed-post coverages.
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